knife

Chapter 770 Confused
Zhong Wuyang watched the endless stream of supply trains on the shore and couldn't help but beam with delight.

It must be said that Chen Yan is quite capable.

Along the way, they successfully deceived the inexperienced Wang Dao, shook off his navy, and traveled upstream along the Han River until they arrived at Ankang County, which was controlled by Linghu Ye.

Clearly, Chen Yan and Linghu Ye had made some prior arrangements; otherwise, it would have been impossible for all the supplies to be prepared so perfectly upon their arrival.

An army marches on its stomach; supplies must come first. If we don't get supplies after getting this far, we'll be in big trouble.

Once Director Wang realizes he's been scammed, he'll soon be searching for him.

This kid has always wanted to seek a decisive battle, but Chen Yan has been avoiding that.

Zhong Wuyang actually disagreed.

Director Wang's naval forces are indeed stronger than theirs.
However, there are too many factors that affect naval operations. If Wang Dao's father were still alive, Zhong Wuyang would definitely be a coward. But Wang Dao is nothing!

"Uncle, do you think Chen Yan's surname is now Chu or Linghu?" A voice came from beside him.

Zhong Wuyang turned his head and looked at his nephew Zhong Mian, who seemed to be deep in thought.

At present, the Great Chu is fighting in alliance with Linghu Ye to deal with Jiang Qian, who is entrenched in the eight towns of Jiangnan, but it is clear that Zhong Mian does not mean this.

Zhong Wuyang smiled and said, "Does that matter? So tell me, are we now surnamed Chu, Xiang, or Na?"

Zhong Mian was stunned for a long time, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Now the Great Chu is falling apart and the country is in chaos. Jiang Qian controls the eight towns in Jiangnan, and Xiang Zhuang controls several prefectures including Yuezhou. The central government is nominally under Na Wei's control, but the other prefectures and counties are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. Although they were forcibly united this time because of a common goal, it is hard to say how long this alliance can last.

Nominally, they are now under Xiang Zhuang's command, and are allied with Chen Yan to fight against the navy of the Eight Garrisons of Jiangnan.

"How did our Great Chu fall to this state?" Zhong Mian asked dejectedly. "Uncle, even if we win this battle, what's next? Will we be able to shake hands with Na Wei and put aside all past grievances? I think we might defeat Wang Dao one day and then have to fight Chen Yan the next. Have you considered this?"

"Chen Yan could never truly serve Na Wei!"

"So he's already sided with Linghuye, Uncle. In the long run, even if Linghuye wins, will he stop attacking us?"

"The best scenario would be for Linghu Ye and Li Dachui to fight to the death, with neither able to defeat the other, so that we can still survive with a shred of dignity!" Zhong Wuyang said.

Hearing this, Zhong Mian couldn't help but laugh: "Uncle, you actually said something like that? Is that even possible?"

"With the situation so dire, all we can do is indulge in daydreams to console ourselves!" Zhong Wuyang sighed. "This is Chu's only glimmer of hope; otherwise, the country would surely be destroyed!"

"Then what are we still struggling for?"

“We’re not struggling for Chu anymore, we’re struggling for ourselves!” Zhong Wuyang’s voice lowered. “A’Mian, strength is the most important thing. Now we need to work hard to acquire more strength so that we can gain leverage in future competitions. We don’t have the opportunity to be served; we can only try to present ourselves better and have more inner strength so that we can fetch a good price!”

This kind of argument made the young Zhong Mian feel quite uncomfortable, but upon reflection, he realized that this was the cruel reality.

Their navy, led by the Zhong family, was a joint force of five families. The Zhong family was the strongest, with about forty warships, while the other four families each had about twenty. Although these hundred-plus warships were all old-fashioned, the sailors were all extremely experienced veterans. "Chen Yan probably sold himself for a good price to Linghu Ye!" Zhong Wuyang said with a sneer.

"But Uncle, who can we sell ourselves to?" Xiang Mian asked. "It can't be Linghu Ye again, can it?"

"Let's wait and see!" Zhong Wuyang sighed. "We have too little capital, and we can't really take control of our own lives."

"I wonder what those other companies are thinking?"

"No one here is stupid. We probably think about the same thing. Otherwise, why wouldn't everyone object to Chen Yan abandoning Na Wei in Liyang County and going all the way up? It's because no one wants to clash with Wang Dao on the Yangtze River and thus lose strength!"

"But didn't Chen Yan say last time that we were about to attack Xiangyang?"

“That depends on how many men Linghu Ye mobilizes for this attack on Xiangyang!” Zhong Wuyang said. “If Linghu Ye really launches a major offensive, Chen Yan will definitely provide support.”

"You mean Linghu Ye might not fight a major battle?"

"Can't you see it yet?" Zhong Wuyang said, "Xin's army was defeated, and Na Wei retreated to Liyang County, but where is Linghu Ye's army that was agreed upon? It's still gathering. Heh heh, this gathering is going to take quite a while. Maybe Na Wei and Xiang Zhuang were tricked by Linghu Ye this time!"

"In that case, what are we still doing here?" Zhong Mian said in a low voice, "In my opinion, it's best to leave!"

"Leave?" Zhong Wuyang said coldly, "You think you can just leave like that? If things go wrong, you'll either be punished by military law, or you'll run into Director Wang when you get back, and the whole army will be wiped out!"

“There will always be an opportunity!” Zhong Mian said.

"Just wait!" Zhong Wuyang said, "There will definitely be an opportunity. I've been on tenterhooks these past few days, always feeling like something's going to happen! It's our turn to patrol these next couple of days, so be careful and don't let your guard down!"

“I see that the Qin army in Ankang County is heavily guarded on the shore. The only one who could pose a threat to us on the water is Wang Dao, but that kid has been tricked and is probably still searching for us on the river. He won’t be able to come over anytime soon!” Zhong Mian said, “There shouldn’t be any trouble!”

"Better safe than sorry!" Zhong Wuyang said, "Don't let Chen Yan find any fault with us. He's still nominally the leader of this navy."

"If he really pissses us off, we'll all go our separate ways. Who's afraid of him? Surely the other four families won't abandon us and side with him?"

"There's still a sliver of hope to preserve the Great Chu dynasty. Only in this way can our interests be best protected. So now is not the time to turn against them!" Zhong Wuyang sighed. "Right now, the future truly feels bleak!"

Watching Zhong Wuyang walk back to the cabin with a hunched back, Zhong Mian felt that the road ahead was unpredictable. Now, if he didn't handle things well, he would face the destruction of his family and the extermination of his clan!

The night was silent, and the warship glided silently on the river. Zhong Mian, sitting cross-legged on the bow, was still thinking about what his uncle had told him during the day.

In his view, the current situation was a complete mess, a tangled mess. He couldn't find the thread at all, let alone figure out how to sort it out. Frustrated by the thought, he wished he could just draw his sword, chop the mess into pieces, and burn it all.

Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of oars slicing through the water, and Zhong Mian abruptly stood up.

Is there really something going on?
Under the moonlight, a small boat sailed from the shore toward his warship, and a person could be vaguely seen standing at the bow.

(End of this chapter)